An online survey conducted by The Eco Experts revealed some interesting data about the relationship between the Britons and solar energy. There you go some facts!

Rising Energy Prices – Everyone’s problem

The survey reveals even the richest households in the UK are worried about the rising energy prices. Around 2/3rds of the surveyed say a sudden 30% increase in their energy bills couldn’t be afforded, and even among households earning more than £75,000 a year, 1/3rd claim they could not afford the increase. (more…)

This week ending 12th of August 2012, and due to new cuts in the Feed-in Tariffs, the number of solar photovoltaic installations has drop down up to almost historical minimums since the Feed-in Tariffs scheme started in April 2010. Only 665 installations done in all the UK during these last 7 days, only 17% of the solar pv installations done in the previous week.

Around 85% of the energy consumed comes from fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas), and this demand is expected to increase 2% per year. Burning these materials produce large amounts of CO2 that are being to the atmosphere, damaging the environment and leading the way to climate change.

In this video from the University of Cambridge, a group of experts talk about the energy demand and consumption, and examine how wind power, carbon capture storage (CSS) and material efficiency are examples of reducing or capturing CO2 emissions and guarantee a safe and efficient future for the planet.

After a long time looking forward to see the results from the first weekly installations of August 2012, figures seem to be not as bad as expected. Still awaiting updates1 from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, this week ending 5th August there have been 2,368 up to 50kW solar PV installations in the UK compared to 922 done the first week after the cuts of Feed-in Tariffs in April 2012.

Last week, Sainsbury’s announced the completion of a 69,500 solar panels installation on almost 170 of its 572 supermarkets in all the UK. The company says the panels, if combined all together, would cover 24 football pitches, and also claims the tittle of the biggest solar power generator in Europe, as, collectively, the panels would become the biggest solar array in all the continent.

Justin King, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, urged other retailers to “take another look” at investing in solar energy. “Supermarkets have the equivalent of football fields on their roofs, many of them underutilised,” he added. “It’s a perfect time to turn that space into something positive.“

In a move toward greater transparency and following in Apple and Google’s footsteps, Facebook has revealed for first time its carbon footprint during 2011.

Facebook’s Carbon & Energy Impact Report provides details about the company’s carbon footprint, energy mix, and energy use for all of its offices and data centers. The apparently non-stop growth of the company will have an impact on its carbon footprint, so the company has also outlined its clean energy commitments, setting a goal to acquire at least 25% of its energy from clean and renewable sources by 2015, in order to maximise efﬁciency and align the business decisions with the environment. As reported, the company will include renewable energy component to every new data center it builds, mentioning its solar pv installation at Prineville data center as an example of next projects.

Followed by the great results of last week solar pv installations, this week figures were even better! Still awaiting updates1 from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the first results published reveal that nothing more and nothing less than 9,390 solar photovoltaic installations were done in the UK during these last seven days!(more…)

The UK Government has introduced today the New Feed-in Tariffs scheme. From 1st of August on, residential tariffs for homes which have a Level D Energy Performance Certificate or above, will drop down from 21p per kWh to 16p, and the payment time will decrease 5 years, standing at 20 instead of 25. On the flip side, the Export Tariff will increase to 4.5p/kWh. The total benefit estimated now for a homeowner installing solar panels on or after 1st August is £866 in Year 1. (more…)